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| Hong Kong Protest Live Updates: Demonstrators Try to Disrupt Handover Anniversary Event | Hong Kong Protest Live Updates: Demonstrators Try to Disrupt Handover Anniversary Event |
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| Hundreds of riot police officers with helmets and shields used batons and pepper spray to push back protesters who tried to march to the site of an annual ceremony on Monday morning marking the 22d anniversary of the territory’s return to China from Britain. | Hundreds of riot police officers with helmets and shields used batons and pepper spray to push back protesters who tried to march to the site of an annual ceremony on Monday morning marking the 22d anniversary of the territory’s return to China from Britain. |
| Thousands of protesters, dressed in black, with some wearing helmets and face masks, had occupied roads around Hong Kong’s legislature early Monday. They barricaded streets and marched as they sought to disrupt a morning ceremony at the city’s convention center that was attended by the Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, and other top officials. | |
| Some protesters tried to charge by pushing steel barricades at the police and hid under umbrellas to protect them from pepper spray. They were stopped by officers who struck them with batons and doused them with pepper spray. The police warned them that anyone who sought to breach their cordon would be arrested. | Some protesters tried to charge by pushing steel barricades at the police and hid under umbrellas to protect them from pepper spray. They were stopped by officers who struck them with batons and doused them with pepper spray. The police warned them that anyone who sought to breach their cordon would be arrested. |
| The turnout of protesters on Monday morning was likely among the largest efforts to disrupt the Hong Kong government’s most important annual political event. Hong Kong, a former British colony, was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 under the “one country, two systems” formulation that promised to maintain for 50 years Hong Kong’s own political and economic systems, including civil liberties that the ruling Chinese Communist Party denies to citizens on the mainland. | |
| Mrs. Lam and other officials watched a flag-raising ceremony on a video display from inside a convention center where the event had been moved, the government said, to avoid rain. Helicopters flying the flags of Hong Kong and China flew around the island. | |
| Huge crowds of demonstrators have taken to Hong Kong’s streets in the past several weeks, protesting a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. The broad public anger has already forced Mrs. Lam to suspend the proposed legislation, but demonstrators want it to be fully withdrawn and have also turned their scrutiny on the police, whom they say acted with excessive force in dispersing a June 12 protest. | Huge crowds of demonstrators have taken to Hong Kong’s streets in the past several weeks, protesting a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. The broad public anger has already forced Mrs. Lam to suspend the proposed legislation, but demonstrators want it to be fully withdrawn and have also turned their scrutiny on the police, whom they say acted with excessive force in dispersing a June 12 protest. |
| A march was planned for later in the day that pro-democracy organizers said was expected to draw a large turnout. Beyond the opposition to the extradition bill, the protests have been a dramatic expression of the deepening anxiety many in Hong Kong feel about the erosion of the civil liberties that set the city apart from the rest of China. | A march was planned for later in the day that pro-democracy organizers said was expected to draw a large turnout. Beyond the opposition to the extradition bill, the protests have been a dramatic expression of the deepening anxiety many in Hong Kong feel about the erosion of the civil liberties that set the city apart from the rest of China. |
| In one measure of that anxiety, a University of Hong Kong survey released last week showed that more than half the city’s residents held a negative view of the central government’s policies regarding Hong Kong, compared with less than a quarter who had a positive assessment. The university’s public opinion research center, which conducted the survey, said the appraisal was the most negative since 1999. | In one measure of that anxiety, a University of Hong Kong survey released last week showed that more than half the city’s residents held a negative view of the central government’s policies regarding Hong Kong, compared with less than a quarter who had a positive assessment. The university’s public opinion research center, which conducted the survey, said the appraisal was the most negative since 1999. |
| There were signs that the government was scaling back Monday’s ceremony because of the protests. Last week, officials canceled the attendance of students and uniformed youth groups at the ceremony, citing concerns for their safety. Roads around the site of the ceremony were sealed off on Sunday. | There were signs that the government was scaling back Monday’s ceremony because of the protests. Last week, officials canceled the attendance of students and uniformed youth groups at the ceremony, citing concerns for their safety. Roads around the site of the ceremony were sealed off on Sunday. |
| Even as many in Hong Kong have denounced the police for its use of force on demonstrators last month, others have defended the police. | Even as many in Hong Kong have denounced the police for its use of force on demonstrators last month, others have defended the police. |
| On Sunday, about 165,000 people attended a rally in support of the police, according to organizers, with some holding signs praising the Hong Kong police as the “best in Asia.” | On Sunday, about 165,000 people attended a rally in support of the police, according to organizers, with some holding signs praising the Hong Kong police as the “best in Asia.” |
| The police force came under criticism for using tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds to disperse a demonstration on June 12. | The police force came under criticism for using tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds to disperse a demonstration on June 12. |
| On two occasions since, hundreds, or as many as thousands, of mostly young protesters have surrounded the police headquarters for hours, barricading entrances and defacing walls. | On two occasions since, hundreds, or as many as thousands, of mostly young protesters have surrounded the police headquarters for hours, barricading entrances and defacing walls. |
| Mrs. Lam’s deputy, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, sought to ease tensions and assuage the protesters on Sunday by saying that the government would now “listen to criticism with humility.” | Mrs. Lam’s deputy, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, sought to ease tensions and assuage the protesters on Sunday by saying that the government would now “listen to criticism with humility.” |
| In a post on his official blog, Mr. Cheung said the government would lose its “paternalistic mind-set” and pay greater attention to the youth, who have been a major force behind the recent protests. | In a post on his official blog, Mr. Cheung said the government would lose its “paternalistic mind-set” and pay greater attention to the youth, who have been a major force behind the recent protests. |
| In recent days, some protesters have also turned their attention to the Hong Kong government’s long-planned move to rezone a 160-yard strip of a public waterfront as a dock for the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese military, which has maintained a largely symbolic presence in the territory. | In recent days, some protesters have also turned their attention to the Hong Kong government’s long-planned move to rezone a 160-yard strip of a public waterfront as a dock for the People’s Liberation Army, the Chinese military, which has maintained a largely symbolic presence in the territory. |
| Hundreds of protesters gathered on Friday night near the waterfront in Central, the business and political center on the northern edge of Hong Kong Island, to oppose the transfer of the land to the Chinese army, which came into effect at midnight on Saturday. | Hundreds of protesters gathered on Friday night near the waterfront in Central, the business and political center on the northern edge of Hong Kong Island, to oppose the transfer of the land to the Chinese army, which came into effect at midnight on Saturday. |
| “Return my harbor-front, stop ceding our land!” the demonstrators chanted. | “Return my harbor-front, stop ceding our land!” the demonstrators chanted. |
| China and Britain agreed in 1994 that the dock and four other buildings should be given to the Hong Kong garrison of the People’s Liberation Army. The dock was the last military facility to be handed over and the government has said it was duty-bound to do so for defense reasons. Critics say it breaks up a core part of the waterfront, a scenic space that is well-used by the public. | China and Britain agreed in 1994 that the dock and four other buildings should be given to the Hong Kong garrison of the People’s Liberation Army. The dock was the last military facility to be handed over and the government has said it was duty-bound to do so for defense reasons. Critics say it breaks up a core part of the waterfront, a scenic space that is well-used by the public. |
| The transfer process began in 2013, when the government applied for the strip of waterfront to be rezoned for military use. But activists opposed to the transfer have found new support from the protest movement against the extradition bill. | The transfer process began in 2013, when the government applied for the strip of waterfront to be rezoned for military use. But activists opposed to the transfer have found new support from the protest movement against the extradition bill. |
| The New York Times reviewed hundreds of videos and photos posted online by witnesses, along with submissions to our WhatsApp tip line, to assess whether the Hong Kong police used excessive force. Experts at Amnesty International, a human rights group, helped examine the images. We spoke to specialists in crowd control and interviewed more than two dozen protesters. | The New York Times reviewed hundreds of videos and photos posted online by witnesses, along with submissions to our WhatsApp tip line, to assess whether the Hong Kong police used excessive force. Experts at Amnesty International, a human rights group, helped examine the images. We spoke to specialists in crowd control and interviewed more than two dozen protesters. |
| The videos show protesters being beaten by police officers, shot with riot-control ammunition, dragged on the ground and hit with tear gas during large-scale confrontations on June 12 near Hong Kong’s government headquarters. Their injuries included bruised ribs, broken fingers and respiratory problems. | The videos show protesters being beaten by police officers, shot with riot-control ammunition, dragged on the ground and hit with tear gas during large-scale confrontations on June 12 near Hong Kong’s government headquarters. Their injuries included bruised ribs, broken fingers and respiratory problems. |
| The authorities began to use force after a small group of protesters threw bricks, bottles and umbrellas at officers and tried to push through rings of heavily armored police. | The authorities began to use force after a small group of protesters threw bricks, bottles and umbrellas at officers and tried to push through rings of heavily armored police. |
| But the protests were largely peaceful, and human rights groups have denounced the actions of the police as excessive and illegal. Hong Kong officials say the police officers acted with restraint. | But the protests were largely peaceful, and human rights groups have denounced the actions of the police as excessive and illegal. Hong Kong officials say the police officers acted with restraint. |
| For weeks, protesters in Hong Kong have organized demonstrations that are not only larger but also arguably more effective than the Umbrella Movement of 2014, when demonstrators blocked major roadways for weeks in a failed campaign for more open elections. | For weeks, protesters in Hong Kong have organized demonstrations that are not only larger but also arguably more effective than the Umbrella Movement of 2014, when demonstrators blocked major roadways for weeks in a failed campaign for more open elections. |
| This time, the protesters have more concrete demands and are also adopting new tactics. Young protesters have blocked roads and disrupted government services in response to anonymous calls in encrypted chat apps and online forums. Others have raised money online to pay for an international advertising campaign, including in The New York Times. | This time, the protesters have more concrete demands and are also adopting new tactics. Young protesters have blocked roads and disrupted government services in response to anonymous calls in encrypted chat apps and online forums. Others have raised money online to pay for an international advertising campaign, including in The New York Times. |
| Some of the recent protests have been conventional, like a rally on Wednesday night that was organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, a pro-democracy group. But a distinctive feature of this year’s movement is that it has also been somewhat leaderless. Decisions on when, where and how to protest have often been made collectively on social media platforms where users are anonymous and details are worked out through likes and so-called upvotes. | Some of the recent protests have been conventional, like a rally on Wednesday night that was organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, a pro-democracy group. But a distinctive feature of this year’s movement is that it has also been somewhat leaderless. Decisions on when, where and how to protest have often been made collectively on social media platforms where users are anonymous and details are worked out through likes and so-called upvotes. |
| Tiffany May, Katherine Li, Javier Hernandez, Austin Ramzy and Gillian Wong contributed reporting. | Tiffany May, Katherine Li, Javier Hernandez, Austin Ramzy and Gillian Wong contributed reporting. |